"Happy 50th Birthday, Algeria!"

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS

Original Title: La battaglia di Algeri
Country: Italy/Algeria
Language: French, Arabic
Number: 436
Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
Starring: Brahim Haggiag, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi, Samia Kerbash
Oscar nom: Best Foreign Language Film (Italy) Best Original Screenplay, Best Director
Venice: Golden Lion, FIPRESCI Prize
IMDb: 8.2
RT: 99%

It is now 50 years since Algeria got it's independence from the french, after countless of bloody battles that cost over one million dead's, most of them civilians. It was on the 1st of November, 1954 that the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale) declared war against the french settlers, and this has become their national day. They weren't as experienced as the french soldiers, they where basically just local villagers with no war experience and was a easy match for the french forces, who did every dirty trick in the book to tear their network apart, specially with the help of torture, which made the international society react and the french came under a high pressure. And also the french experienced inner conflict between leftists and conservatives. It's was in other words their Vietnam.

The Battle of Algiers is set in the Algerian capital Algeries where we follow three FNL members, who see all the repression in the Casbah (the muslim part of the city) and decides to assassinate as many of the local police men and politicians they can, to draw international attention. But as always the french's revenge is ten times worse, specially when a bomb is placed in the middle of the casbah and many civilians dies. It's from then the FNL have to plant bombs in the french part of the city like in cafes and airports. Then the government decides to use the highly experienced paratroop squad, lead by Colonel Mathieu to track down all the FNL members, no matter what.

The Battle of Algiers is a wonderful piece of film making. It's almost like a documentary, filmed in black and white, hand held, locations where it really happened and with amateur actors. It also even features the real resistance fighter Saadi Yacef playing basically himself. The only professional actor in this film is Jean Martin as the french paratroop general with his characteristic sunglasses, which makes him one of the greatest bad asses in the history of motion pictures. And to top it all, there's the Ennio Morricone soundtrack.

What I even love more about this movie is that it's never aged a bit, since it was released in 1966. It is as relevant today as it was then. We can clearly see the same thing going on in many countries today as in this movie, like in the on going Arab spring and the Israel-Palestine conflict. It was actually banned in Israel for many years. It was also banned in France, mostly because of the portraying of the french forces in the movie. And one other fun fact is that this movie was screened in Pentagon right before the invasion of Iraq, to do the opposite of what the moral of this film is. In their case it was how to eliminate a whole terrorist network.

The Battle of Algiers is a wonderful example of what kind of powers the motion pictures has. It's not just entertainment, it also has an objective to educate us, to tell us how it really is, or how some certain people feels about it. The perfect political drama, and probably one of the few movies that actually have change the world, and actually educated us, and influenced us politically. And I hope it's still with us after another fifty years from now, which it certainly will.


Grade: A


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"A Very Long Movie"

A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

Original title: Un long dimanche de fiancailles
Year: 2004
Country: France/United States
Language: French
Number: 1027
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Marion Cotillard, Dominique Pinon
Oscar nom: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography
IMDb: 7.8
RT score: 78%

Jean-Pierre Jeunet's reprise his collaboration with actress Audrey Tautou in A Very Long Engagement, after the great success with Amelie. To bad that this is exactly the same movie, only dressed up in a military camouflage. The movie is set in France, right after the first world war. Mathilde who's engage to her boyfriend, Manech, who's missing, and no one knows if he's dead or alive. As in Amelie we get to go deep into the characters private life and hobbies, and I couldn't have cared less that Mathilde loves playing the tuba.

It's uses all the techniques as Amelie, and since that was a romantic comedy, it doesn't fit into a war film. It isn't serious enough, it's to bright to be a war film, and it also bugs me that many soldiers accidentally shoots their hands in order to get out of the front, what a Vietnam cliche. The stylistic layers only makes me sick and offended that they want to make a colorful fruit punch out of the muddy trenches. What did I like? Well Audrey Tautou is hot, and it's kind of interesting to watch Jodie Foster act in French. But otherwise it's a movie that I sincerely hate, because it's a romantic melodrama comedy that has no respect for the actualities and human suffering, but is only interesting to show us another author film, and also it's to long. I don't care if it's based on any novel or how close it is. It's a movie that I really can't stand.


Grade: D


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"Role Reversal"

BLACK GOD, WHITE DEVIL

Original title: Deus e o diabo na terra do sol
Year: 1964
Country: Brazil
Language: Portuguese
Number: 429
Director: Glauber Rocha
Starring: Geraldo Del Rey, Yoná Magalhaes, Maurício do Valle, Othon Bastos
IMDb: 7.4
RT score: 100%

Glauber Rocha's Black God, White Devil is the story about the poor peasant Manuel who just have shot his landlord for trying to cheat Manuel of his earnings and have no other choice than to flee along with his pregnant wife Rosa . In their journey they come across a religious sect with a self proclaimed prophet who makes Manuel kill his first born son, it then ends up with Rosa killing the prophet, and Manuel and Rosa is once again on the run. Then they join a christian outlaw gang. The bounty hunter, Antonio das Mortes is hired by the catholic church to take these outlaws down, once and for all.

Black God, White Devil is a part of the Latin American movement called "Cinema Novo" (New Cinema) which is a wave that was heavily influenced by the Italian neorealism, in that way that it's focusing on the poor conditions of the lowest in the society, which apposes the old fashion Latin American cinema with all it's Hollywood, like melodramas and musicals. And that's exactly what Black God, White Devil is, all it's symbolism and criticism towards the catholic church who says that "thou shall not kill", but sends out a gun men to kill people, without no forgiveness. The films most powerful scene is where das Mortes shoot down and massacres all of the prophets unarmed followers with a Winchester rifle, which might be a symbolism of what actually the Christianity has stand for the last two thousand years. I loved all the films symbolism, but I have to admit all it's symbolism, and less plot made it a little boring. But overall it's a good religious film about the dangers of religious extremism.


Grade: B

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"Viva La Emperor"

NAPOLÉON

Year: 1927
Country: France
Language: Silent
Number: 36
Director: Abel Gance
Starring: Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko, Gina Manès, Edmond Van Daële
IMDb: 7.8
RT score: 92%

Abel Gance's masterly four hours long silent epic, Napoleon is by many considered to be the greatest biographical film ever made about the great Napoleon Bonaparte. We follow him from his early childhood during the days at the military academy, where the young Napoleon from Corsica is demonstrating his leader skills in a snowball fight, and is from then seen in no other clothes then his uniform, because his destiny is certain. He then gains greater responsibility during the french revolution in Paris where he also falls for the rich and beautiful Josephine who wont marry him because of his rank and class. He is then promoted to general over the Italian army, an army full of exhausted and inexperienced soldiers. There's no expectation of a victory, it is here Napoleon proves them wrong, and light a sparkle inside every soldiers and defeats his enemies.

The films ends here, because there was a plan for a sequel to continue Napoleon's rich and exciting life. But sadly enough, Napoleon was actually not very well received by the audience or the critics and became a flop and Abel Gance's carrier was in ruin, specially when the sound came and he was unable to adapt, but he did anyhow made another Napoleon movie about the battle of Austerlitz, but neither that one become successful. After many short cut versions, Napoleon was finally released in it's full length by film historian Kevin Brownlow and was premiered in 1981. and it's from then considered to be one of the greatest film ever made.





The reason why Napoleon have been considered a masterpiece is because of all the technical achievements this movie has to offer. It's basically contain all the film techniques that was revolutionary at that time it was made, such as fast cutting, majestic close ups, hand held camera shots, multiple exposure and many more. One great example with the fast cutting is during the battle scenes, and specially the battle of Gibraltar, a wonderful, exhilarating chaotic scene, more chaotic that Eisenstein's Odessa scene. And also the cross-cutting scene where we see the chaos in the french parliament while we follow Napoleon's dangerous voyage from Corsica to the main land in a small rowboat battling a great hurricane.

I can only imagine how great it would have been to actually seen this in a theater with an actual orchestra playing in the background, it would have been the most reverence moment in my life. I try not to sound like a bitch when I say that the only problem with this film that it's actually is to long, because there are many part that I thought this movie could be without. But overall I think that watching this film have given a bigger reverence towards Napoleon as the great leader and strategist he was, and what you can achieve if you only work hard for it.


Grade: B+


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"A Baad Asssss Nigger is Coming Back to Collect Some Dues..."

SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG

Year: 1971
Country: United States
Language: English
Number: 538
Director: Melvin Van Peebles
Starring: Melvin Van Peebles, Simon Chuckster, Hubert Scales, John Dullaghan
IMDb: 5.6
RT score: 79%

Melvin Van Peebles' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was the movie that actually started a whole sub-genre called blaxploitation, a genre by black people, about black people and for black people. It's show us the poor treatment that they where exposed to, and whom finally get to see one of their own get out his rage towards the whites.

This is the story about the african-american street hustler Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles) who is blessed with a large equipment who every women have adores since he was a little kid. But one night two white policemen need a suspect for a criminal act, so it's natural that they can always find a black man. But on his way to the station followed by the cops, the cops beats up another black man, and Sweetback smashes both of the cops in the head with his handcuffs and beat them to death. Sweetback is now a wanted criminal, and he has no other choice than to make it to the Mexican border. And sadly enough many of his brothers is going to pay for his freedom.




Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is not a great film, it's pretty much kind of dragging, and the production qualities are poor, and also much of the acting, but then again it's a low budget film, which makes it kind of cool. It's jazz soundtrack is good, but it might be to much of the same tune, and it feel exhausted after a while, plus all the color filter effect which makes me dizzy. But what really makes this movie works is the use of realism in forms of sexual intercourse and shocking violence, which really brings out the message. 


Grade: C+

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"Witch Craft? or just a High Fever"

HÄXAN

Year: 1922
Country: Sweden/Denmark
Language: Silent
Number: 16
Director: Benjamin Christensen
Starring: Benhamin Christensen, Elisabeth Christensen, Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan
IMDb: 7.7
RT score: 88%

Benjamin Christensen's Hãxan is actually a documentary, or rather a bunch of dramatized scenarios about the theme witchcraft in the middle ages and in modern times. It shows us the medieval superstition dramatized with real demons and all, with explanations of why the people who was seduced by demons acted the way they did, not because they where cursed but because of diseases, which is perfectly demonstrated in the part of the film where we follow a lady in the present who suffers from the same distress and human weakness, but only this time instead of being crucified she's getting medical help.

Häxan is a pretty scary, macabre and mystical film, specially when it comes to the demon themselves, and the fact that this is a silent film only makes it more scary. It was actually banned in the United States and heavily censored in multiple countries because of the nudity, violence and torture, which is the element that makes it a great horror film, almost realistic in an honest way, more scary than any of the German expressionistic films, and the fact that this is actually how the medieval people thought how it actually was. A really scary film.


Grade: A-


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"James Dean with a Machine Gun"

ASHES AND DIAMONDS



Original title: Popiól i diament
Year: 1958
Country: Poland
Language: Polish
Number: 335
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Starring: Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyzewska, Waclaw Zastrzezynski, Adam Pawlikowski
Venice: FIPRESCI Prize
IMDb: 7.9
RT score: 88%

Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds is the last film in the highly acclaimed war trilogy that have put Poland on the map of greatest film nations. This series has been a great success in Poland because it follows the second world war through the eyes of the rebellious youth. We have follow them through the greatest event during the war, like the Warsaw up-spring. But in this last chapter set during one single day, May 8, 1945, the liberation day when the Germans finally surrendered, but the future is still uncertain, because of the strong communist influence that is certainly going to grip the power.

But there's a nationalist group that will prevent the communist of taking control, and one of these nationalists are the young Maciek who is ordered to kill one of the communist leaders. So we follow him in the last hours before he's about to conduct his assignments. The war has given him many mental scars through the years. From fighting the nazis to now fighting the communists. He wear sunglasses all the time, not because it makes him cool, like James Dean, but because all the time in the sewer during the up spring. "I wear these for my father land" as he puts it.




My opinion about this film is that it is kind of a slow film. I am a little afraid for saying what I'm about to say, but I actually hoped it would been much better, and with more action, and it isn't as great as the two previous films. I hoped that this last chapter would lead to something big. The one of the few things that was thrilling was the opening scene, but while watching the rest of the movie, I wasn't that impressed. But it's an alright story, though nothing more. But the main character is just as cool as James Dean, he has the same view towards authorities.


Grade: C+


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